England midfielder Owen Hargreaves is close to securing a dream move to Manchester United, according to reports in Germany. The website of German magazine Spiegel said that the Canadian-born Bayern Munich star will complete a 25 million euro move once he has agreed terms on a four-year contract.
If the news is confirmed it will end a long-running saga that began before last year's World Cup. United have made no secret of the fact they want Hargreaves, who likewise has long expressed his desire to move to the newly-crowned Premiership champions.
Bayern had previously refused to sell the 26-year-old to United, although president Franz Beckenbauer had hinted that a deal could be done if the price was right.
Speaking recently on German television, he said: "If it is right there is an offer of 25-30m euros, then I would seriously consider it. "I think the board also think this way to satisfy the needs of the player." Hargreaves missed Bayern's last game of the season on Saturday, a 5-2 thrashing of Mainz 05, and afterwards he refused to comment on the speculation.
He played 145 league games during a 10-year spell in Bavaria and won the Champions League in 2001. Once Hargreaves joins United, Bayern will move for Chelsea's Dutch winger Arjen Robben, according to the Observer newspaper in England. Robben has started just 51 matches for Chelsea during his three-year stint at the club due to a number of injuries.